She could not concisely have expressed how it happened
How the vibrant colours of the days
She found herself living within the walls of
Had  become strangely gaunt and watered down

But they had

And this man, a man she barely knew
Could not possibly know how the words he had just spoken from the pulpit
"Here we are, half way through the dark days of Winter."
Would reach inside her and stir up the winds of urgency

But they had

Amid strangers, she pulled a thorn from her self-inflicted  crown
And silently began mending a life she barely recognized
With vision both struggling and skewed, she fumbled along with thorny needle and thread
Upon that which for too long, had been coming apart at the seams

There's a storm coming and the tide is rising, I hike up my dress and wade into the water
I want to disrobe you in this wet wilderness of pounding heart  and throbbing pulse
Did I tell you that to date I have discovered one thousand and nine ways to love you

And I am still counting

So make passable the impassable! Be brave and open up your Heaven to me!
Flood my soul for forty days and forty nights and let me feed you my wild honey and manna
And cradled within waves and winds, a new covenant with new stories will be born

*And lovers will still be counting

Paper crowns and bullrush scepters
Her throne a willow tree

In a  blue cotton gown
And Nike hightop glass slippers

She reigns over her grassy courtyard
A fearless leader ~ Wild and free

A champion of the winged and four legged
Of apple trees and dandelion seed

Dutiful of her backyard kingdom
Collecting leavings and legacy

Long may she live!
Long may she reign!

~ Our backyard Queen ~

Amid the winter's biting cold
And the wind's bitter howl
Sat the stalwart crow
A black sentry surveying

From a high wire watch tower

Vigilant eyes peer
Beyond the icicles hanging
Into ice frosted windows
That distort the shadows moving inside

But the black bird sees enough to know

So is now involved
A part of the story being written
On pages with too many contractions
Violations of terms

*And sharp edges, that cut as you try to leave them

Your eyes hold their tongues
And keep their wishes secret
Mysterious, deep and dark

Riddle or Prison house?

Your vulnerability crowns you
And keeps you at arms length
Shaming those who might attempt advancement

*Unattainable